Benzinga's M&A Chatter for Thursday June 19, 2014

The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Thursday June 19, 2014:

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Shares of Kodiak Oil & Gas

moved higher Thursday, on a report from

that it could be a potential takeover target for Exxon Mobile

. There was unusual option activity last week in the July $14 call. Spokespersons for Kodiak and Exxon Mobil were not available for comment. Kodiak Oil & Gas closed Thursday at $14.36, a gain of more than 2%.

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Shares of Family Dollar

surged higher after hours Thursday, as investor Carl Icahn called for a sale of the discount retailer. Icahn recently reported a 9.39% stake in Family Dollar and he wants three of his representatives added to the company's board. Icahn has said that wanted Family Dollar to merge with Dollar General

. Family Dollar closed Thursday at $68.14, and traded as high as $70.90 after-hours.

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American Apparel

announced Thursday it was suspending CEO Dov Charney for cause and replacing him with interim CEO John Luttrell. The

reported that Charney's departure could create an opportunity for a potential sale, according to sources. American Apparel Co-Chair Mayer, later told

there were no plans to sell the company. Shares of American Apparel closed at $0.68, a gain of almost 7%.

:

Energy Transfer Equity

is in talks to acquire Targa Resources and its operating unit Targa Resource Partners

, according to

. Sources say a deal could be announced next week and could also involve Regency Energy Partners

. Shares of Targa Resources Corp closed Thursday at $150.62, a gain of 20%, Targa Resource Partners gained more than 17% to close at $81.55.